Editing Bergen County, New Jersey (section)

==Economy==
[[File:Tree Map of Employment by Industries in Bergen County, Nj (2015).svg|thumb|upright=1.4|Employment by industries]]
[[File:Humc.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|[[Hackensack University Medical Center]] in [[Hackensack, New Jersey|Hackensack]] is the largest employer in Bergen County.]]
The [[Bureau of Economic Analysis]] calculated that the county's [[gross domestic product]] was $81.5&nbsp;billion in 2022, which was ranked first in the state and was a 1.2% increase from the prior year.<ref>[https://www.bea.gov/sites/default/files/2023-12/lagdp1223.pdf Gross Domestic Product by County, 2022], [[Bureau of Economic Analysis]]. Accessed September 29, 2024.</ref>

===Largest employers===
According to the Bergen County Economic Development Corporation, the largest employers in Bergen County as of November 2012, as ranked with at least 1,000 employees in the county, were as follows:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.co.bergen.nj.us/documentcenter/view/142|title=Bergen County Top Employers List|publisher=Bergen County Economic Development Corporation|date=November 30, 2012|access-date=April 28, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141013100545/http://www.co.bergen.nj.us/documentcenter/view/142|archive-date=October 13, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[Hackensack University Medical Center]], Hackensack, 8,000
* [[Valley Health System]], Ridgewood, 4,660
* Bio-Reference Laboratories, Inc., Elmwood Park, 2,900
* [[Medco Health Solutions]], Franklin Lakes, 2,800 (no longer an independent company)
* County of Bergen, Hackensack, 2,390
* [[Quest Diagnostics]], Teterboro/Lyndhurst, 2,200
* [[KPMG]], Montvale, 2,100
* [[Englewood Hospital and Medical Center]], Englewood, 2,002
* Englewood Hospital Home Health Care Services, Englewood, 1,985
* [[Unilever Bestfoods]], Englewood Cliffs, 1,900
* [[Stryker Corporation]], Allendale/Mahwah, 1,812
* [[Bergen Regional Medical Center]], Paramus, 1,746
* [[Holy Name Medical Center]], Teaneck, 1,695
* [[Becton Dickinson]], Franklin Lakes, 1,500
* [[Crestron Electronics]], Rockleigh/Cresskill, 1,500
* [[BMW]] of North America, Woodcliff Lake, 1,000

[[File:Ridgewood NJ Downtown.JPG|thumb|250px|Downtown [[Ridgewood, New Jersey|Ridgewood]], one of many [[Walkability|pedestrian-oriented]] municipal commercial centers in Bergen County]]

In January 2015, [[Mercedes-Benz]] USA announced that it would be moving its headquarters from the borough of Montvale in Bergen County to the [[Atlanta, Georgia]], area as of July. The company had been based in northern New Jersey since 1972 and has had 1,000 employees on a {{convert|37|acres|adj=on}} campus in Montvale. Despite incentive offers from the State of New Jersey to remain in Bergen County, Mercedes-Benz cited proximity to its [[Alabama]] manufacturing facility and a growing customer base in the southeastern United States, in addition to as much as $50 million in tax incentives from Georgia governmental agencies, in explaining its decision to move. However, Mercedes-Benz USA also stated its intent to maintain its Northeast regional headquarters in Montvale and to build a "state-of-the-art" assemblage training center in the borough as well.<ref>Lynn, Kathleen. [http://www.northjersey.com/news/business/mercedes-usa-leaving-montvale-for-atlanta-1.1186781?page=all "Mercedes-Benz is latest to leave NJ, moving from Montvale to Atlanta"], ''[[The Record (North Jersey)|The Record]]'', January 6, 2015. Accessed January 21, 2015.</ref>

===Building permits===
In 2011, Bergen County issued 1,903 new building permits for residential construction, the largest number in New Jersey.<ref>{{cite web | title = 2012 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book Available for Order | publisher = Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey | url = http://cenewscenter.rutgers.edu/articles/2013/03/2012-new-jersey-legislative-district-data-book-available-order | access-date = December 29, 2016 | archive-date = October 25, 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171025184455/http://cenewscenter.rutgers.edu/articles/2013/03/2012-new-jersey-legislative-district-data-book-available-order | url-status = dead }}</ref>

====Retail====
The [[retail industry]], anchored in [[Paramus, New Jersey|Paramus]], is a mainstay of the Bergen County economy, with a combined payroll of $1.7 billion as of 2012.<ref>[http://www.co.bergen.nj.us/DocumentCenter/View/2727 Community Profile of Bergen County, NJ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150427161335/http://www.co.bergen.nj.us/DocumentCenter/View/2727 |date=April 27, 2015 }}, Bergen County Economic Development Corporation. Accessed January 7, 2014.</ref> The largest retail entities are described below in further detail:

===Garden State Plaza===
[[File:9.3.07GardenStatePlazaMallbyLuigiNovi.JPG|thumb|250px|Interior of the [[Garden State Plaza]] in [[Paramus, New Jersey|Paramus]], whose 07652 [[ZIP Code]] produces over $5 billion in [[retail]] sales annually, the top in the United States<ref name=Retail1>{{cite web|url=http://www.bergen.com/guide/shopping/billion-dollar-bergen-retail-reigns-supreme-throughout-the-county-1.832035|title=Billion-Dollar Bergen: Retail reigns supreme throughout the county|author=Laura Adams|work=northjersey.com|date=February 4, 2011|access-date=June 23, 2014}}</ref><ref name=Retail2>{{cite web|url=http://www.northjersey.com/realestate/113835354_More_than_shopping.html|title=Paramus appeal goes beyond retail|author=Violet Snow|work=northjersey.com|date=January 16, 2011|access-date=June 23, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212111637/http://www.northjersey.com/realestate/113835354_More_than_shopping.html|archive-date=December 12, 2013}}</ref>]]
The [[Garden State Plaza]] megamall is located in [[Paramus, New Jersey|Paramus]]. The mall is owned and managed by [[Paris]]-based real estate management company [[Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield]], and located at the intersection of [[New Jersey Route 4|Route 4]] and [[New Jersey Route 17|Route 17]] near the [[Garden State Parkway]], about {{convert|15|mi}} west of [[Manhattan]].<ref name=NJ.com>Queally, James; Sherman, Ted; Grant, Jason (November 5, 2013). [http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/11/garden_state_plaza_mall_shooting_suspect_killed_himself_in_store_source_says.html "Garden State Plaza shooting suspect killed self in mall, authorities say"]. NJ.com.</ref> Opened in 1957 as the first suburban shopping mall in New Jersey,<ref name=NorthJersey>{{cite web|url=https://www.northjersey.com/story/money/shopping/2019/05/05/garden-state-plazas-makeover-sign-changing-times/1103187001/|author=Anzidei, Melanie|title=Westfield Garden State Plaza's transformation a sign of changing times in retail|date=May 5, 2019|access-date=August 27, 2020}}</ref><ref name=NYT1959>[https://www.nytimes.com/1957/03/20/archives/garden-state-shopping-center-due-to-open-may-1-in-paramus-it-will.html "Garden State Shopping Center Due to Open May 1 in Paramus; It Will Be Largest in Jersey --Bergen Mall Being Built Less Than a Mile Away"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', March 20, 1957. p. 49. Accessed February 27, 2021. "The Garden State Plaza Shopping Center, being built in Paramus, N.J., will open on May 1, it was announced yesterday. The center will be the largest in the state."</ref> it contains {{convert|2,118,718|sqft|m2|abbr=on}} of leasable space,<ref name=GSP>[http://westfield.com/corporate/property-portfolio/united-states/gardenstateplaza.html Westfield Garden State Plaza] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080801221019/http://westfield.com/corporate/property-portfolio/united-states/gardenstateplaza.html |date=August 1, 2008 }}, [[Westfield Group]]. Accessed June 6, 2008</ref><ref>[http://www.icsc.org/apps/dmmdisp.php?dispid=NJ0400 Westfield Garden State Plaza] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930201643/http://www.icsc.org/apps/dmmdisp.php?dispid=NJ0400 |date=September 30, 2007 }}, [[International Council of Shopping Centers]]. Accessed June 6, 2008</ref> and housing over 300 stores,<ref name=NJ.com/> it is the second-largest mall in New Jersey, the third-largest mall in the [[New York metropolitan area]], and one of the highest-revenue producing malls in the United States.<ref>D'Innocenzio, Anne; and Porter, David, via [[Associated Press]]. [https://6abc.com/american-dream-mall-east-rutherford-the-meadowlands-nickelodeon-universe/5647589/ "American Dream, 2nd largest mall in US, opens in New Jersey"], [[WPVI-TV]], October 26, 2019. Accessed February 18, 2022.</ref>

===American Dream Meadowlands===
[[File:AmericanDreamExterior.jpg|thumb|250px|The exterior of the [[American Dream Meadowlands]] megamall in [[East Rutherford, New Jersey|East Rutherford]]]]
[[American Dream Meadowlands|American Dream]], located {{convert|8|mi}} south of [[Garden State Plaza]], is another large retail and entertainment complex, situated in the [[Meadowlands Sports Complex]] in [[East Rutherford, New Jersey|East Rutherford]].<ref name=NYTimes10.2.15>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/03/nyregion/dream-of-a-mall-starts-to-rise-out-of-a-meadowlands-nightmare.html?_r=0|title=Huge Mall Rising at Troubled Site in North Jersey|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=October 2, 2015|author=Bagli, Charles V.|access-date=July 27, 2016|archive-date=October 6, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151006025140/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/03/nyregion/dream-of-a-mall-starts-to-rise-out-of-a-meadowlands-nightmare.html?_r=0|url-status=live}}</ref> The first and second of four opening stages occurred on October 25, 2019, and on December 5, 2019.<ref name=NorthJersey7.3.19>{{cite web|author=Anzidei, Melanie|date=July 3, 2019|url=https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/2019/07/03/american-dream-open-oct-25-officials-say/1639522001/|title=It's finally happening: American Dream mall will open Oct. 25|newspaper=[[NorthJersey.com]]|access-date=August 5, 2019|archive-date=July 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703201850/https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/2019/07/03/american-dream-open-oct-25-officials-say/1639522001/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/bergen/2019/12/indoor-ski-slope-at-american-dream-is-open-heres-a-first-look-inside.html|title=Indoor ski slope at American Dream is open. Here's a first look inside.|publisher=[[NJ.com]]|author=Pries, Allison Pries|date=December 5, 2019|language=en|access-date=December 6, 2019|archive-date=July 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200716173414/https://www.nj.com/bergen/2019/12/indoor-ski-slope-at-american-dream-is-open-heres-a-first-look-inside.html}}</ref> The remaining opening stages occurred on October 1, 2020, and thereafter.<ref>{{Cite web|author=Pries, Allison|date=October 1, 2020|title=American Dream mega-mall reopens Thursday. What to know about stores, parking, water park.|url=https://www.nj.com/coronavirus/2020/10/american-dream-mega-mall-reopens-thursday-what-to-know-about-stores-parking-water-park.html|access-date=October 1, 2020|publisher=[[NJ.com]]|language=en|archive-date=October 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001223232/https://www.nj.com/coronavirus/2020/10/american-dream-mega-mall-reopens-thursday-what-to-know-about-stores-parking-water-park.html|url-status=live}}</ref> As of January 2023, the megamall hosts over 200 stores and other commercial establishments.

===Blue laws===
Bergen County enforces one of the last remaining U.S. [[blue laws in the United States#New Jersey|blue laws]] that cover most retail sales, other than food and gasoline (among other limited items). The law enforced in the county is actually a state law that each county could reject by voter [[referendum]], with 20 of the state's 21 counties having voted to reject the legal option to enforce the law.<ref>Hanley, Robert. [https://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/27/nyregion/bergen-stores-try-to-repeal-blue-laws.html "Bergen Stores Try to Repeal Blue Laws"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', August 27, 1993. Accessed December 29, 2010.</ref> Thus one of the largest and most popular commercial shopping cores of the [[New York metropolitan area]]<ref>[http://www.globest.com/retail/advisor/1_54/advisor/16788-1.html Paramus 07652] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517172031/http://www.globest.com/retail/advisor/1_54/advisor/16788-1.html |date=May 17, 2008 }}, GlobeSt. Retail, October 3, 2005.</ref> is almost completely closed on Sunday. Grocery stores, convenience stores, gas stations, hotels, restaurants, pharmacies, entertainment venues, and any other exempted establishments that do not sell clothing, shoes, furniture, electronics, hardware, and home appliances are among the businesses allowed to operate. Furthermore, Bergen County has significant populations of [[Jew]]ish (2000 estimate of 83,700) and [[Muslim]] (2000 estimate of 6,473) residents whose observant members would not be celebrating the [[Sunday Sabbath]] with most of their [[Christians|Christian]] neighbors.<ref>[http://www.thearda.com/mapsReports/reports/counties/34003_2000.asp Bergen County, New Jersey: Religious Affiliations, 2000]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929091504/http://www.thearda.com/mapsReports/reports/counties/34003_2000.asp|date=September 29, 2007}}. [[Association of Religion Data Archives]]. Accessed December 14, 2006.</ref> The substantial [[Orthodox Jew]]ish minority is placed in the position of being unable to shop either on Sunday (due to the blue laws) or on Saturday (due to religious observance).<ref>[http://www.jstandard.com/articles/1441/1/Teaneck-considers-a-blue-move "Teaneck considers a blue move"], ''[[Jewish Standard]]'', August 17, 2006</ref><ref>Aberback, Brian. [https://web.archive.org/web/20140610181451/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-127654995.html "Teaneck drops blue laws effort"], ''[[The Record (North Jersey)|The Record]]'', August 19, 2006. Accessed December 24, 2013. "Teaneck — Legal concerns have sunk the Township Council's plan to ask voters whether the town should be exempted from the Sunday blue laws."</ref>

However, repeated attempts by voters to repeal the law have failed. A large part of the reason for maintaining the laws has been a desire by many Bergen County residents for relative tranquility and less traffic on one day of the week.<ref name=NYTBlue>[[Anthony DePalma (author)|DePalma, Anthony]]. [https://www.nytimes.com/1984/11/04/realestate/in-new-jersey-paramus-blue-laws-crimp-office-leasing.html "In New Jersey — Paramus Blue Laws Crimp Office Leasing"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', November 4, 1984. Accessed July 25, 2018. "Officials tried to regulate the effects of the tremendous growth on the borough by insisting that at least one day a week, Paramus be allowed to enjoy some of its former peace and quiet. In 1957, a law was passed banning all ''worldly employment'' on Sundays, forcing all the new stores and malls built in the celery fields to close for the day."</ref> This desire for relative peace is most apparent in Paramus, where most of the county's largest [[shopping mall]]s are located, along the intersecting highways of [[New Jersey Route 4|Route 4]] and [[New Jersey Route 17|Route 17]], which are jam-packed on many Saturdays. Paramus has enacted blue laws of its own that are even more restrictive than those enforced by Bergen County,<ref>Firschein, Merry. [https://web.archive.org/web/20140610175944/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-130555415.html Paramus mayor faces challenge], ''[[The Record (North Jersey)|The Record]]'', October 31, 2006. Accessed December 24, 2013. "Both candidates said they would stand strong against any weakening of the blue laws, which keep most stores closed on Sunday, and would work to keep Paramus' laws the most restrictive in the state."</ref> banning all forms of "worldly employment" on Sundays, including white collar workers in office buildings.<ref name=NYTBlue /> Despite these strict blue laws, Paramus (07652) has become the top retail [[ZIP Code]] in the United States, with the municipality generating over US$6 billion in annual retail sales.<ref name=ParamusNumberOneRetailZipCode>{{cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/bergen/2019/03/more-shopping-money-is-spent-in-this-nj-town-than-on-rodeo-drive-take-that-cali.html|title=Inside the N.J. town where retail spending beats Hollywood and tourism rivals Disney|author=Allison Pries|date=March 10, 2019|access-date=March 10, 2019|quote=The former farming community already sees more retail sales than any other zip code in the country...More than $6 billion in retail sales happen in Paramus each year.}}</ref> Local blue laws in Paramus were first proposed in 1957, while the Bergen Mall (since renamed as [[The Outlets at Bergen Town Center]]) and [[Garden State Plaza]] were under construction. The legislation was motivated by fears that the two new malls would aggravate the already severe highway congestion caused by local retail businesses along the borough's highways seven days a week and to preserve one day on which the roads were less congested.<ref>Tompkins, John. [https://www.nytimes.com/1957/06/02/archives/sunday-selling-plaguing-jersey-local-businesses-pushing-fight.html "Sunday Selling Plaguing Jersey – Local Businesses Pushing Fight Against Activities of Stores on Highways – Other Group Active Local Option Opposed"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', June 2, 1957, p. 165. Accessed August 9, 2012.</ref> In November 2012, Governor Chris Christie issued an executive order to temporarily suspend the blue law due to the effects of [[Hurricane Sandy]].<ref>Verdon, Joan. [http://www.northjersey.com/news/178121571_Judge_sides_with_governor__county_over_blue_laws.html "Judge sides with county executive over Bergen blue laws"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004214146/http://www.northjersey.com/news/178121571_Judge_sides_with_governor__county_over_blue_laws.html |date=October 4, 2013 }}, ''[[The Record (North Jersey)|The Record]]'', November 9, 2012. Accessed October 7, 2013.</ref> The blue law was suspended on November 11 but was back in effect one week later.<ref>Sullivan, S. P. [http://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2012/11/bergen_county_execs_office_makes_clear_blue_laws_back_this_weekend.html "Bergen County exec makes clear: Blue laws are back this weekend"], [[NJ.com]], November 16, 2012. Accessed October 7, 2013.</ref>

===Minimum wage===
In November 2017, County Executive James Tedesco raised the [[minimum wage]] for full-time Bergen County workers to $15 per hour gradually increasing over a 6-year period, an increase from the prevailing state minimum wage at the time of $8.44 hourly. The raise constituted the first such hike in the minimum wage paid to employees of any New Jersey county.<ref>Cowen, Richard. [https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/2017/11/21/minimum-wage-bergen-county-workers-now-15-hour/885116001/ "Minimum wage for Bergen County workers is now $15 an hour"], ''[[The Record (North Jersey)|The Record]]'', November 21, 2017. Accessed July 25, 2018. "Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco gave thanks for county workers on Tuesday when he signed an executive order that raises the minimum wage for full-time employees to $15 an hour. Tedesco, riding the progressive wave that swept Phil Murphy into office earlier this month, did his part to help the governor-elect deliver on one of his key campaign promises: to nearly double the minimum wage all around the state, which now stands at $8.44."</ref>